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De Bethune DB28 Digitale: a 21st-century take on the Art of Horology

The technical and aesthetic research pursued by De Bethune through its watchmaking creations seeks to define tomorrow’s watchmaking, even when that entails entirely rethinking its mechanical architecture and defining new aesthetic codes geared toward achieving a universal ideal. This approach is conceived a continuum with the accomplishments of the great historical mastery. Such a tireless quest for beauty, naturally rooted in a philosophy shared by David Zanetta and Denis Flageollet, while also nurtured by observation and research in the artistic field, gives rise to contemporary creations housing innovative Manufacture-made movements based on sophisticated microtechnical engineering and featuring a number of original touches in terms of their materials, shapes and diverse colors.

Ever since the creation of De Bethune, 18th century fine watchmaking has been an inexhaustible source of inspiration for its founders, both of whom deeply admire and respect the mechanical ingenuity, the particularly refined aesthetic and the subtle elegance of French clocks from the Directory period.The DB28 Digitale, equipped with a mechanism powering multiple display modes – digital for the jumping hours and analogue for the minutes and spherical for the moon phases – embodies a highly contemporary vision of the aesthetic of that era. The dial adorned with a hand-guilloché barleycorn motif, together with the spherical moon and the star-studded sky, represent classical references that are arranged and executed in a manner that accentuates the modernity of the design.

The silver-toned guilloché motif reveals all the beauty and finesse of its motifs. The visual equilibrium of the dial stems from the central spherical moon of which the two polished hemispheres – one in palladium and the other in flame-blued steel – indicate the moon phases with a degree of precision corresponding to a difference of just one lunar day every 1,112 years. The peripheral depiction of the sky is spread from 9 and 3 o’clock above the minutes disc driven by a sophisticated micro-ball bearing mechanism that also powers the digital hours display. Like its dial, the polished titanium ultra-light case of the DB28 defines the modern and indeed futuristic nature of the DB28 Digitale. It is fitted with a 12 o’clock crown and equipped with a patented spring- based floating lugs system enabling millimetre-degree adjustment to the wrist and its movements.

The back of the watch reveals the finishing and technology of a Manufacture De Bethune movement, featuring flame-blued steel parts and bridges adorned with a Côtes de Genève style motif, reworked to accentuate the way light is reflected on the material and to draw the eye towards the heart of the movement. Several patents and innovations are displayed through this window onto the DB2144 calibre, notably equipped with the exclusive De Bethune self-regulating twin barrel, circular silicon/white gold balance wheel, balance-spring with flat end curve, as well as the triple pare-chute shock-absorbing system. The aesthetic balance and the readability of the DB28 Digitale, as well as the luminous shimmering effects created by the light playing across the material and its finishes, combine to create an atmosphere of gentle harmony imbued with refined elegance. Contact Katidja Valy katidja.valy@debethune.com